Beverage tank assembly



July 2, 1968 R. T. CORNELIUS I I BEVERAGE TANK ASSEMBLY Original Filed Dec. 28, 1964 W TT (xv/4K0 .7 (oz/vex ms States Patent I BEYERAGETANK ASSEMBLY 7 Richard 1. Cornelius, Minneapolis lvlinn assignor to The Cornelius Company, Anoka, Minn., a corporation fof'Minnes'ota Original application Dec. 28, 1964,'Ser'. No. 421,423,'now

r-Patent No. 3,-349,940, dated Oct. 31, 1967. Divided and 1, this application Aug. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 574,023 r i a lClaim. (Cl. 220-66) This application is a division of my copending application, Ser. No. 421,423, filed Dec. 28, 1964, now US. Patent No. 3,349,940.

This invention relates generally to beverage tank assemblies', and more-specifically to such a device that is resistant to handling shocks.

'Although the principles of the present invention may be included in-various tanks, a particularly useful application is made in a tank of the type employed to transport premixed carbonated b'everages from a bottling plant to a point of sale. Such usage includes the transport of beverage syrup or concentrate to a geographical point where further dilution or mixing is to take place.

In devices of this general type known previously, during the'handling thereof, on occasion severe shocks have been imparted to the tank assembly. It has been previously proposed to provide a shock absorbent foot or base, or to provide a shock absorbent foot and head to such tanks. However, such foot or base has oftentimes served to transmit the shock to thetank so that the tank has become dented.- Further, a previous such foot or head has projected beyond the outside diameter of the tank in such a manner as to create a ridge which would prevent the tank from being dragged onits side'horizontally across a rack without catching or without a risk of peeling the foot or base from the tank. I

The present invention contemplates the utilization of a structure by which these problems are avoided, and for that purpose, thetank is provided, in a preferred embodiment, with a pair of skirts, each of which has a portion "that extends beyond the tank both axially and radially, and especially the lower skirt has a collapsible portion which will yield before the tank will. Further, the means by which each of the skirts is attached to the tank is placed in shear. The foregoing has been obtained (1) without creating a ridge that prevents sliding of the tank on a truck rack, (2) while maintaining good cleaning and washability of the interior of the tank, and (3) while structure is provided that resists sag due to the stacking.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shock resistant beverage tank assembly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tank assembly which may be subjected to shocks without such shock being transmitted to the tank in such a way as to dent the same.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a beverage tank assembly of such construction that the means by which a skirt is attached to the tank is placed in shear as a result of shocks.

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Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a beverage tank assembly wherein the tank may be slid horizontally on a rack without any resulting binding, obstruction, or risk of peeling.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing while maintaining cleaning and washability of the interior, and resistance to sag due to stacking of a number of such tanks on top of each other.

Many other advantages, features and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

.The single figure is a side elevational view of the ends of a beverage tank assembly provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention, in which figure the upper and lower skirts are partially broken away and shown in cross section.

As shown on the drawings:

The principles of this invention are particularly useful when embodied in a beverage tank assembly such as illustrated in the drawing, generally indicated by the numeral 10. The tank assembly 10 includes a tank 11, at least one lower elastomeric skirt 12, and preferably a second upper elast-omeric skirt 13.

The tank 11 includes an elongated cylindrical central portion 14, part of which is broken away in the drawing, a somewhat shorter lower cylindrical section 15, an upper cylindrical section 16 of reduced diameter, and a substantially axially facing lower shoulder 17 and a substantially axially facing upper shoulder 18. The lower shoulder 17 is directed in a generally downward direction while the upper shoulder 18 is directed in a generally upward direction. The shoulders 17 and 18 smoothly coaxially connect the cylindrical sections 15, 16 with the elongated cylindrical central portion 14 to provide a smooth interior. The tank 11 comprises a relatively thin wall of stainless steel and thus may 'be internally cleaned and washed, access to the interior being had by means of a removable cover assembly 19 which is visible through a hand hole 20 in the upper skirt 13. The short generally cylindrical sections 15, 16 blend smoothly with a lower do-rne end 21 and an upper dome end 22 which are also of quite thin section so as to be susceptible of denting.

The elastomeric skirt 12 includes a annular flange 23, and the elastomeric skirt 13 includes an annular flange 24, the flanges 23 and 24 being respectively seated against the shoulders 17 and 18. The interface between the flanges 23, 24 and the cylindrical sections 15, 16 comprises a bond such as of cement by which the skirts 12 and 13 are secured to the tank 11. When a shock is applied to the skirt 12 or the skirt 13 in a generally axial direction, such shock is transmitted by the flanges 23, 24 to the shoulders 17, 18, and any force tending to separate the bond of the flanges 23, 24 with the cylindrical sections 15, 1-6 acts in shear on such bonds without tending to peel any portion of the skirt 12, 13 from the tank 11.

It is impractical to mold a device to a feather-edge, but the construction of the flanges 23, 24 is such that there is a definite substantial thickness of material at the shoulders 17, 18, the radial thickness of such flanges 23, 24 being such as to make the outer surface of the flanges 23, 24 flush with the adjacent surface of the tank 11. When the assembly 10 is laid on its side and dragged across a truck rack, there is thus provided no ridge to engage any transversely extending obstruction on such truck rack, whereby the tank may be easily slid in a horizontal direction when lying on its side, and without risk that the end of the trailing flange 23 or 24 might be snagged and possibly peeled from the tank 11.

One of the most important features of the present invention is that the outer wall of the skirts 12, 13 includes a portion 25, 26 which has a radius greater than the central port-ion 14 of the tank 11, such outer wall portions 25, 26 lying axially beyond the adjacent end of the tank to provide an air space between such outer Wall portions 25, 26 and the tank.

The annular flanges 23, 24 extend axially to provide a pair of end support surfaces 27, 28, the support surface 27 serving to support the tank assembly on a horizontal surface in an upright manner, and the support surface 28 serving to support like assemblies resting on their surfaces 27 on such surface 28.

The skirt 12 includes bracing means 29 and the skirt 13 includes bracing means 30 which are respectively integral with the annular flanges 23, 24, and the bracing means 29, 30 are less resistant to collapse than the ends 21, 22 of the tank 11 are to indentation. In this embodiment, the bracing means 29, 30 comprises a frusto-conical web secured at its larger diameter 31, 32 to the axially outer end of the annular flanges 23, 24, and at its smaller diameter 33, 34 to the ends 21, 22 of the tank 11. If desired, a number of radially extending webs 35, 36 are provided to interconnect the bracing means 29, 30 with the annular flanges 23, 24. These webs are disposed about the tank axis, extend in a radial direction, and the-re typically would be such webs per skirt spaced uniformly,

there being a drain groove 5 provided as needed in lieu of handle openings such as 20. The webs 35, 36 make the skirts 12, 13 resistant to sagging as a result of stacking, while they do not adversely aifect the ability of the bracing means 29, to collapse in response to somewhat greater shocks.

If a filled tank were standing vertically and were supported on the surface 27, and were then knocked over, the radially projecting outer surface portion 26 of the upper skirt 13 would engage the flat supporting surface, and a shock would be transmitted radially inwardly through the flange 24. However, as there is no portion of the tank immediately in back of the portion 26 of the flange 24, the flange 24 would merely yield radially inwardly at the enlarged radius 26, thereby absorbing the shock without transmitting a denting force to the enclosed upper end 22 of tank 11. A similar result would take place if a blow were applied against the radially outwardly projecting surface portion 25 of the skirt 12. The portions 25, 26 thus also absorb horizontal blows which can be transmitted from tank-to-tank when and if they are slammed against each other laterally. If the tank assembly 10 were being carried by a handle portion 36 defined by the hand hole 20, and were then set down rather sharply, there would be a tendency to transmit a force from the lower surface 27 through the bracing means 29 against the undersurface of the lower end 21 of the tank 11. However, as the frusto-conical bracing means 29 is of somewhat thinner cross-sectional configuration, it buckles relatively easily in absorbing such shock, allowing the flange portion 23 to bend in the nature of a cantilever, without transmitting a tank-denting force to the enclosed lower end 21 of the tank. Owing to the resiliency of the elastomeric material, the shapes of the skirts 12, 13 are immediately self-restoring. Preferably, the material of the skirts 12, 13 has a hardness of durometer 95.

Thus by the present invention, the tank assembly 10 is so constructed as to be resistant to dents or indentations, particularly of the type that would-be concealed by the skirts 12, 13, whereby the good washability of theinterior of the tank 11 has not been adversely affected, and whereby the internal volume of the tank has not been unknowingly changed. Further, also, the rough handling forces or shocks are thus absorbed and transmit-ted in such a manner that the skirts 12, 13 do not tend to separate from the tank 11, and the configuration enables the use of a relatively large bonding area, whereby an overall high quality product is provided. Even though two closely adjacent vertical tanks may support a third tank which straddles such two tanks, the four points of support both given and received resist sagging so that the stackedt-anks will not tip of their own properties.

Although various minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come Within the scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tank assembly comprising in combination:

(a) a cylindrical tank having a pair of external axiallydirected annular shoulders respectively disposed near the outer ends thereof; and

(b) a pair of annular support skirts of resilient material, said skirts respectively having annular flanges secured to and seated against said shoulders, said skirts each having an outer wall diameter intermediate its ends and lying axially beyond the end of the tank, such outer wall diameter being greater than any outside diameter on said tank, said greater outside skirt diameter tapering smoothly to a smaller diameter at said flanges such that said resilient flanges are substantially flush with the outside diameter of said tank at said shoulders, and bracing means comprising a frusto-conical web integral at its larger diameter with the axially outer end of said annular flange and secured at its smaller end to said one end of said tank, and being less resistant to collapse than said tank is to indentation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,198,082 9/1916 'Stollberg 220-69 1,200,263 10/ 19-16 Stollberg 220-69 2,983,403 5/1961 Mauser 22066 3,158,296 11/1964 Cornelius 2-2085 3,294,271 112/ 1966 Armbruster 220-5 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

JAMES R. GARRETT, Examiner. 

